Football: No. 8s — MacArthur and Somerset

The No. 8 Class 5A team, MacArthur, and the eighth-ranked Sub-5A team Somerset both have quarterbacks entering their third season as starter – the Brahmas’ Clinton Killough and the Bulldogs’ Stevie Joe Dorman.

The Brahmas had a disappointing end to their 2009, losing its final three games against Roosevelt, Reagan and New Braunfels. That coincided with TE and Texas Tech commit Jace Amaro suffering a season-ending knee injury with three games left in the season.

For a team that hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2006, the expectations are pretty high. That’s because of nine returning offensive starters, including Killough’s third season back.

Killough led the team in both passing and rushing, throwing for 1,617 yards and running for another 436 more. With two of his favorite targets – Amaro and WR David Eberwine – back, this could be a big year for the 5-10, 170-pound QB.

Key Player: Killough. Not to put pressure on the kid, but the season is going to hinge on Killough’s ability to run the Brahmas’ offense. Ok, that’s putting a little pressure on him.

He’s been the starter for two seasons and has shown good decision-making in decided when to pass or tuck-and-run. If Mac’s offense can click like it did over summer in 7-on-7 play, Killough could be leading an impressive charge.

Under the Radar: Jace Amaro stands out as one of the top tight ends in the nation, which takes some of the attention away from WR David Eberwine.

Eberwine, at 6-3 and 170 pounds, has the size and averaged 24.1 yards per catch last season on 19 receptions. Amaro’s hands and ability to run great underneath routes could free up Eberwine for a lot of one-on-one coverage on deep passes.

Question Mark: There’s going to be a decent-sized spotlight on DT Ashaad Mabry now that he’s headed to the Big 12. Mabry, at 6-3 and 285 pounds impressed scouts by bench-pressing 405 pounds, but his 54 tackles and three sacks last season didn’t earn first or second-team all-district honors.

He definitely has the potential to have a big year. If Mabry can lead the defense, the Brahmas could be the surprise team at the top of the 26-5A standings.

Somerset

I’m not sure what it says about the Sub-5A rankings that we had a 3-7 team in New Braunfels Canyon at No. 9. And now at No. 8, it’s Somerset, a team that finished fourth in district 27-3A last season. Probably that preseason rankings don’t mean too much.

Somerset definitely has the talent to be a ranked team. In Stevie Joe Dorman, the Bulldogs have a QB who has thrown for almost 6,000 career yards (5,929). Much has been made about his pedigree, but Dorman’s been making a name for himself around the area.

Key Player: Dorman. Everything’s lined up for Dorman to have a big season. His top two receivers, 6-foot-4 Jacob Hillyer and 6-2 John Guerra are back. Hillyer had 1,053 receiving yards and Guerra had 649 last season.

It wouldn’t be surprising at all if Dorman leads the area in passing. Since Stevens’ Mykkele Thompson and Tivy’s Johnny Manziel are both dual-threat quarterbacks, it means Dorman could be the area’s top QB recruit for the class of 2011 as far as pure passers go.

Under the Radar: It’s rare that a 3A player who is committed to an ACC school would be under the radar, but DB Will Harlos is. At a pass-happy school such as Somerset, the offense has gotten most of the attention. Harlos, a Wake Forest commitment, is 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, with the size and speed to play linebacker or in the secondary. Either way, he can hit hard. He had more than 100 tackles and four interceptions last season, and will play some receiver this season.

Question Mark: The Bulldogs are favored to win 27-3A, but can they live up to expectations. Devine and Pearsall are the only district teams who made the playoffs last season, and Somerset’s non-district schedule is made up of two private school teams (Holy Cross and St. Anthony) and two 2A schools (Rice Consolidated and Blanco). Could a 10-0 regular season be within reach?